PAGE 2, KINGS MOUNTAIN MIRROR, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1972
Reflections
bv Rodnev Dodson
The arrests by Kings Mou
ntain Police Monday night of
out-of-town youths breaking
into a local pharmacy fur
ther illustrates that we can’t
escape this problem, a pro
blem which may have peak
ed, but the effects of which
have not. It is noteworthy
that amid all the talk about
the drug problem, and
everyone has his own the
ory for how to handle it,
some people are actually
trying to do something about
it- and they’re Interested in
your opinion and concern.
The Community Organlaa-
tlon For Drug Abuse Pre
vention (CODAP) in Cleve
land County, along with Al
can Aluminum, which op
erates a plant in Kings
Mountain, is sponsoring a
series of lectures and sem
inars during this week dir
ected to students, parents,
and industrial leaders,
A related story in this ed-
lUon of the MIRROR tells
what’s going on, and who’s
doing it, but these experts
are effective only if the
people care. If you have
questions about narcotics,
or have answers, or if you
have children in school, it
might be well worth your
while to attend the “Mom
and Dad’’ discussion Thurs
day night at the First Bap
tist Church. During the next
Perspective
few weeks, this newspaper
will be publishing half-page
advertisements, paid for by
local concerned citizens, un
der the direction of Alcan
Aluminum, which began the
crusade against drug abuse
as an employee education
service through it’s plants.
“Drugs” is one of those
persistent topics like Viet
nam and taxes. We get tir
ed of hearing about it, but
it never seems to go away,
but unless we can lick this
problem on a local level, it
will probably remain a Na
tional problem. As Alcan’s
Bob Kingery said, “We
want to talk about the basic
problems- answer questions
and discuss it on a grass
roots level. Remember-
Thursday night at the First
Baptist Church.
A post election note. The
officiid canvas of the elec
tion vote in Cleveland Coun
ty revealed that Skipper
Bowles carried the county by
only 15 votes over Governor-
elect Holsbouser, with Arlis
Pettyjohn taking 84 votes.
by Jay .Ashley
“Deliverance” by James
Dickey
Dell Publication. 236 pages.
$1.25. Paperback
It’s not often that a novel
or any medium grasps at a
readers emotions and psyche
as thoroughly as James
Dickey’s “Deliverance.”
Dickey, a poet and profess
or in our neighboring state
of South Carolina, has trac
ed the journey of four city
businessmen from the bore
dom and humdrum of every
day routine to an animalis
tic society of wilderness
ruled by pounding waters and
coped with by sheer guts.
As we first meet the men
they are discussing a pro
posed trip down the Cahula-
wassee River for, as Lewis
Medlock reasons, a back to
nature trip. Although the
character of Ed Gentry na
rrates the tale, the reader
is shown from the onset
that Lewis Medlock will be
the domineering force. The
center of all activity will be
directed around Lewis.
Medlock exemplifies the
staunchness of a pioneer.
His main concern in this
life is to be ready for self
survival at a moment’s no
tice. In tact he is really
lool^ forward to a holo
caust to see how well he
survives. His ideas are of
ten a bit repugnant to the
others but his energy has the
sort of Infectiousness that
Ed Gentry, Drew Ballinger
and Bobby Trippe, his com-
padres, find hard to resist.
The foursome begin their
trip on the Cahulawassee
River at a point near Oree
and plan to end it down
stream several miles at a
north Georgia spot-in-the-
road named Aintry. From
the moment the two canoes
are launched the reader is
pushed and battered from
pillar to post with the char
acters. The reader becomes
the characters feeling the
rushing and dangerous water
and jolts from the rocks
along the rapids.
The “deliverance,” at
least for Ed Gentry, revol
ves around an Initially half
hearted effort to participate
in a nature trip to the grov
eling and pain and scratch
ing for a survival in the
RODNEY DODSON- Editor & Co-Publisher
LEM R. LYNCH- Co-Publisher & Business Mgr.
JAY ASHLEY- News Editor
ELAINE TRIA- General Composition
BECKY KISER- General Office
SYLVU HOLMES- Womens Editor
TONY TOMPKLNS- Sports Writer
The Kings Mountain Mirror is published each Wednesday in
Kings Mountain, N.C. by the Mirror Publishing Co, P.O, Box
345 Kings Mountain, N.C. 28086. Offices are located downtown
at 222 South Railroad Ave. Phone-739-38Sl.
Subscription rates are $4 per year by mail Inside North Ca
rolina. Out-of-state subscriptions are $5 per year.
Second Class Postage Paid At Kings Mountain, North Carolina
hostile wilderness among
hostile elements.
Dependency on the strength
anri cunning of Lewis serves
as a crutch tor the other
three men. The struggle
for survival is enhanced af
ter Lewis is incapacitated by
a broken leg and Ed must
ferret out a would be mur
derer alone. The bareness
of animal survival is per
sonified in Ed as be takes
what little he knows to dis
pose of the threat to him
self and the others in an
alien world.
The sheer intensity of the
novel cannot be related in
such a small article. In
stead it takes the empathy
of the reader to catch the
full Impact of the action.
For axample, after the ca
noes have capsized and the
men are fighting for their
very lives Ed and Bobby
scramble to the bank and
the first thing they ask is
“Where is Lewis?” These
few lines do not really mean
to convey care for one an
other as much as they por
tray the seeming helpless
ness of the other men and
their dependency on Lewis,
their wilderness mentor and
protector.
Anyone who picks up this
book is in for a “mind’s
journey” into adventure and
endurance. Dickey has tak
en a harmless trip and tur
ned it into a tale of murder,
brutality and character stu
dy. What it boUs down to is
a purging of violence from
the soul of the reader and
an instilling of new life
from varying viewpoints.
For one book who could ask
more’’
To the sentamentaiists
roaming around town: Dor
othy Spivey, recognizable be
hind the lunch counter at KM
Drug is suffering, along with
her family, of a broken heart
over the missing family dog.
Rusty. Rusty, a long time
member of the family was
last seen around west
Mountain Street Wednesday
morning. He is a white
cocker spaniel with brown
ears, a spot of brown on bis
forehead and another splot
ch of brown on his rump.
If you know where he is
please call her at 739-4616
and reunite a family.
LURIE’S OPINION
Life has no secrets that
a teenager can’t read alwut
in some of the magazines
offered for sale.
Stop worrying about what
your neighbor does and you
might be able to take better ^
care of yourself. M
■5tlilP*E!’
Gov. Scott Was Prophet Of
What Was To Come In ’72
By JOHN KILGO
KQ SYNDICATE
The Republican Party has
flexed its muscle and elec
ted a U. S. Senator and a
Governor, thereby prompt
ing some to haU North Car
olina as a true two-party
state.
“President Nixon’s popu
larity helped,” says Frank
Rouse, chairman of the Tar
Heel Republican Party, “but
the people believed in what
our candidates were say
ing.”
In looking at what happen
ed at the polls last week,
one would have to conclude
that President Nixon’s coat
tails were long enough in
this state to take others to
office with him.
Unfortunately, it was not
possible to tell the entire
story of the presidential
picture in North Carolina be
fore the vote was held. To
have done so would have
brought cries of unfair re
porting.
Everywhere I went in this
state, however, I found peo
ple who weren’t going to be
satisfied with voting for
President Nixon. They were
going to "punish” the Dem
ocrats for offering George
McGovern as the Party’s
presidential candidate. The
anti-McGovern feeling was
stronger than any political
reaction I have observed in
North Carolina in my life
time.
This was demonstrated at
the polls last Tuesday when
Nixon got 70 per cent of the
vote in North Carolina.
Would Jim Holshouser and
Jesse Helms had won had not
this feeling been running at
a fever pitch?
I think not. It became ob
vious a month before the
election that Skipper Bowles
and Nick Galifianakis were
going to get things together
in a hurry if they were to
hold off the Republican tide.
This became an impossible
task, because the Democrats
were not united and some
bitter feelings were running
rampant.
Galifianakis, for example,
had won nomination after a
bitter fight with B. Everett
Jordan. While it’s true that
Sen. Sam Ervin made a late
effort to help Galifianakis,
it’s also fact that many De
mocrats sat on their hands.
Helms had the momentum
and when those TV spots hit
the air with Nixon saying he
needed Helms in Washington,
the handwriting became clear
on the wall.
As for Bowles, he was
squarely between the pro
verbial rock and the hard
place. A study of the mood
of North Carolinians indica
ted that the voters were de
manding a change in Raleigh.
Bowles had to push himself
as the candidate who could
bring this change about,
while at the same time try
ing to keep traditional Dem
ocrats happy. It was an im
possible tuk.
Hugh Morton, the chairman
of the New Hanover Demo
cratic Party, wrote Bowles
in October that many Demo
crats in his county were up
set at the way Bowles’ peo
ple were giving them the
high hat.
Lt. Gov. Pat Taylor, the
man Bowles defeated in the
primary, did little to help
Bowles, but then Bowles
,:sked him for virtually
nothing.
The Republicans, mean
while, knew the Democrats
faced these problems and
they made the most of it.
Helms ran ads all over the
state trying to tie McGovern
around Galifianakis’ neck.
Nixon money came into the
state to help Helms win the
seat. And when polls show
ed Helms was on the verge
victory, Charles Jonas Jr.
was able to persuade the
President to visit the state
to embrace Helms and Hol
shouser.
Jim Gardner’s wing of the
Republican Party sensed
that Holshouser could in
deed defeat Bowles. The
sniff of a possible victory
united Republicans the state
over, and GOP support of
Helms and Holshouser was
as wide as North Carolina,
It turns out that the prop
het in this election was Gov.
Bob Scott, who told me in an
interview in his office two
years ago:
“The Republicans are get
ting stronger and if we’re
not united in ‘72, we stand
a good chance of losing the
Governor’s office and a seat
in the U.S. Senate.”
And Gov, Scott added in
that interview: “Of course,
it also depends to a large
extent on who our presiden
tial candidate will be.”
The Presidential race,
quickly noted: It seems to
me Sen. McGovern spent too
much time in one state.
Many times you learn more
about a man in defeat than in
victory. Such is the case of
Skipper Bowles, who lost a
heartbreaker for Governor.
The concession speech
Bowles made early Wednes
day morning has to go down
as one of the high marks in
North Carolina political his
tory.
Bowles told a crowd of his
supporters at the Sir Wal
ter: “A majority of the
people want Jim Holshouser
to be Governor for the next
four years and a majority of
the people cannot be wrong.”
Bowles went to search out
Holshouser, wished him
well, and pledged to support
the Governor-elect in any
manner possible.
“It was a good campaign,”
Bowles said, “a clean cam
paign. The people have
siMken and I ask you to
join me in abiding by their
wishes.”
Sunny Side Up
With Kilgo
Bumper stickers seen on
two cars in Lumberton:
Fight pollution. Ride a
Hot8e.,.The other bad a pic
ture of a giant safety pin
which was open and the
words: Romt>er Sticker.
One place that Women’s
Lib Is not pushing tor in
roads is in the Family
Court. There the man is
still the king, the stronger
of the sexes, the person who
is supposed to fork over the
money...It’s like one fellow
told the judge. You don’t
have to keep ahorse in the
living room to have a nag in
the house...A fellow walked
into a Wilson lunch counter
and ordered two hamburg
ers, an order of fries, and a
chocolate sundae for dessert.
What to drink? Make that a
Diet-Rite Cola. Had to wa
tch the old waist line.
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